Okowa urges traditional rulers to provide land for investment

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state has urged traditional rulers and community leaders to partner with government in the provision of land resources for private sector investment to thrive in the state.
Speaking yesterday in Asaba when he received traditional rulers and Executive members of the Anioma Congress led by its Deputy Chairman, the Obi Of Owa, HRM Efeizomor II in Government House, Governor Okowa said that the state needed to partner with the private sector in infrastructural development, but the traditional rulers has a duty to maintain peace and security in their domain and provide land resources for investors stressing that with private sector investment in our communities our youths would be gainfully engaged.
While promising that government would use any land provided for economic purposes that would be beneficial to the communities, Senator Okowa reminded the traditional rulers and community leaders that investments would only thrive in peaceful and secured environment charging them to cooperate with security agencies and Local Government Council Chairmen to provide investment friendly environment at all times.
“There is the need to partner with the private sector in order to develop our lands in Delta state, I want to continue to appeal that there is the need to keep our communities not only peaceful and safe but for us to be able to provide land resources so that for the investors that are coming we can refer them to such areas where there are available lands”, he said.
He added, “I have told the Commissioner for Lands to source out for areas across the state where communities are actually willing to make land available for the purpose of partnering with the private sector but this time, we will not just take up people’s land only to allocate it to individuals; any land that is made available by any community will be used for something that has an economic relevance to that community and to the people of Delta state”.
Governor Okowa disclosed that the state government was partnering with some investors to carry out housing, agricultural production and processing, and solar energy projects in the state, asserting that “these are the kinds of development we are looking into, apart from the fact that these houses will be taken up through mortgage and at reasonable prices, during the course of construction, our people will be employed and it will provide a lot of jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers”, stressing that “if we are able to get the private sector to invest in our lands then our people and many more of our youths will have a place to be engaged and employed”.
Earlier, HRM Obi Emmanuel Efeizomor II explained that they were in Asaba to felicitate with Governor Okowa on his electoral victories and his developmental strides, assuring him of the unalloyed support of the Anioma people in the execution of developmental projects throughout the state.